Tandem recumbent invention allows 87-year old to get back in the saddle

An 87 year old woman is enjoying life in the saddle again for the first time in five years - thanks to her inventor son who came up with an idea for a recumbent tandem.

Daphne Loke had enjoyed cycling around Cambridge for her entire life, but had had to give up the sport five years ago when she developed dementia.

But her enterprising son Richard came to the rescue when he invented a rather different type of tandem.

She sits in a recumbent position, while he rides behind her upright, keeping charge of the steering and stoking the pedals. For a photo, click here.

Richard told Cambridge News that he'd witnessed enormous improvements in her health - saying that trips into the city centre, along the riverside and to Grantchester for tea have been an “absolute joy”.

He said: “Cambridge is a lovely place and she knows it well from when she was young.

“Taking her around in car is not the same with the traffic, but when you’re cycling you can hear, smell and touch things.

“She really enjoys herself and finds it quite exciting because it’s quite an unusual bike and people wave at her. She has a lot of fun.

“She will come home from a trip out and you can just see from the look of the face the effect it has had on her.”

Cambridge News are also on the lookout for the city's oldest cyclist... if it's you or someone you know, email newsdesk [at] cambridge-news.co.uk

After an unpromising start, having to be bribed by her parents to learn to ride without stabilisers, Sarah became rather keener on cycling in her university years, and was eventually persuaded to upgrade to proper road cycling by the prospect of a shiny red Italian bike, which she promptly destroyed by trapping a pair of knickers in the rear derailleur. Sarah writes about about cycling every weekend on road.cc.

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Gkam84[9092 posts]4 years ago

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What a brilliant story, I love the fact that recumbents are now bring life back to a pleasure for so many. I saw this bike on the tinternet the other day, Posted by Laid Back Bikes in Edinburgh